In an earlier articles called “Getting Wealthy By Swimming to Shore“, I compare the process of getting out of debt and becoming rich to swimming to the ocean shore. Becoming “Financial Independent” would be accomplished once you first touch the shoreline. While it’s still possible to make the swim with clutter, I would think that it would be like swimming to shore through seaweed with your clothes and shoes on.
But why is clutter considered bad, you might wonder?
Because it distracts you from the important things in your life that you need to focus on to get things accomplished! By having clutter at your office or in your home, you are constantly being distracted by unimportant materials.
Another problem with such cluster is that it takes valuable real estate space on your desk or in your home. That space could be occupied by more relevant things!
If the clutter is really bad, you can lose important information within the piles of unimportant junk.
In the past, I would build up clutter by saving credit card offers and other junk mail for later reading. The problem is that I never find the time to read the mail later, so the mail offers would just accumulate in a “never read” pile. Eventually this piles get big and important mail sometimes gets mixed in the piles and things get lost. Or I would avoid those piles because it would be overwhelming.
As you may have guessed, I speak from experience. The way I overcame my cluttering habits is that I had to realize that I’m not going to take my clutter with me when I die. I had to learn (over years), how to process such offers more quickly and disregard those pieces of junk mail or unimportant objects in my life.
Actually, even now I’m in the process of either selling or purging some of my hidden clutter down in my basement. I know that it’s stuff that I will never need or use again, so I’m at the point where I just want to get rid of it.
Do you have clutter, and if so, do you think that your clutter may have held you back from being successful?
Simplify, simplify simplify!!!
MR
For me, I don’t know if it is the clutter itself that is making me less successful. It is more that I don’t have time to take things as they come up that is making me crazy. The other day I had to straighten up the house real quick and I couldn’t believe the amount of junk mail I hadn’t gotten rid of and things I hadn’t put on the calendar. I think the day should really be 26 hours long.
My clutter in my basement is preventing me from taking full advantage of my weights downstairs. I need to clear out the junk!
I still have tons of magazines that I’ve only glanced at become of lack of time. I wonder if I should read or toss them…
I simply can’t function with clutter! The simpler things are the better!
I think clutter makes lift to complicated! I need to stop being a packrat and start trashing stuff I don’t use.
Yes, it’s terrible when important papers can’t be located because of all the piles of mail, etc.
Beyond the financial aspect, I find that clutter gives stress to many people even if they don’t realize it. I’m not talking about hoarders, just the garden variety messiness. If possible take 15 minutes a day to go through the mail & deal with it right away. Pour yourself a drink & go through the mail!
That sounds like great advice! 15 minutes a day could be a very easy habit to create that doesn’t take up too much time! Good add!
I have had this same thing happen to me. Important mail gets stuck under junk that I haven’t cleared out. I try to blame the kids for bringing in the mail and setting it down without letting me know, but ultimately, I am responsible.
Yep, I’ve missed (and sometimes almos missed) credit card offers that I wanted to apply for and I almost missed echecking my car!
I definitely think having too much stuff is a big time waster. It takes a lot of time to have and maintain things, let alone finding something you need in a sea of stuff.
I still have a big issue with paper clutter, especially when I write down something on a slip of paper and then can’t find it and have to spend a bunch of extra time looking for things. If anyone has a solution, to that bad habit, that would be great.
I do the same thing. Occasionally, I’ll also run across a slip of paper with a phone number on it where I have no idea who the number is for… Opps.
I’m slowly starting to use the notes in outlook. But Word or an excel spreadsheet works just as well, and they are searchable.
Now I just have to constantly do it…
I think my clutter is pretty organized but that doesn’t mean it’s doing me any good. Lol. I’m always looking for things to donate each quarter and have been doing a good job so far. Papers are definitely one of the most annoying types of clutter so I’ve gone paperless whenever possible. Good luck with your basement! -Sydney
Thanks Sydney,
You’d laugh if you saw my basement 🙂
Not all of it is mine though, my wife has plenty down in the basement too! But I think I can get rid of the toddler bed for sure!
I read in a survey that it is proven “scientifically” that clutter impacts the psyche and therefore productivity in most individuals. personally i am a neat freak, but i can live with particular types of clutter in particular places in my environment (i.e. excessive shoes and ball caps)
Ah, good to hear that a scientific study was done. I was basing my claim above on personal experience and my own observations on others.
I have latent cluttery tendences, which must be brought to heel with regular intervention. Every week, I have to clear desks both in the office and at home, or I just can’t think.
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